Great Expectations
by TheGreenBook
Summary: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CLOCKWORK PRINCESS. This is a multi- chapter story focusing on the life, love, and marriage of Gabriel and Cecily, as well as the family they have together. Please enjoy, read, and review!
1. Chapter 1: Anna

Author's Note: Welcome to my new story, Great Expectations! This story will focus on Gabriel and Cecily, as well as discuss their marriage and the family they have together. This is largely based on the Family Tree from Clockwork Princess and WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the family tree. This will be a multiple chapter story, so be certain to sign up for author alerts.

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. This is a work of fiction based on the characters in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series. No money is being made on this work. This is a work of fiction and should be treated as such. I will accept critiques but not flames. Reviews are most definitely encouraged. Please enjoy!**

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**Great Expectations**

**Chapter 1: Anna**

It was a blue and black predawn sky that Gabriel woke up to, quite suddenly. The bed he was in was unfamiliar, as was the room he was in. This was the Institute, with its grand bedrooms and vaulted ceilings, and not the cozy home he was used to. This bedroom was cold. At home, the bedroom would never get cold, even when the fire was out.

Gabriel yawned and rolled onto his back, pulling the covers up. Before he had awoke for whatever reason, his hand had been resting on his wife's stomach as it had been every single night since the night she had first told him, her voice breathless with fear and excitement, that she was with child.

It had been months before now, about the end of August. Gabriel and Cecily had been in bed, each reading their chosen books (Great Expectations for her, Treasure Island for him.) Cecily had been fidgeting half the night, all through dinner, and had even knocked a plate of biscuits onto the floor at one point. Gabriel had hardly paid it any mind. That was Cecily, a whirling dervish of dark and light, his very own bright star. When they retired to bed, she moved and shifted around, her book propped on a pillow, her body very close to his. Gabriel had reached over and rested a hand on her thigh to calm her, not even looking up from his book.

"I'm pregnant," Cecily had whispered.

Gabriel had looked over at her, his eyes growing wide. He hadn't expected this and yet he had anticipated it for a while. They married in the fall of 1881, just months after Cecily's 18th birthday, and after a brief honeymoon to Ireland, returned to London to settle down at the modest home Gabriel had bought for them in Pimlico. They each wanted to start a family fairly, but being young (she 18, and he, only 21) they also wanted to enjoy being newlyweds, and so they started not trying to conceive a baby, but not prevent a pregnancy either.

The pressure had been on nonetheless. Gideon and Sophie had married and had their first daughter within a year of their wedding, and it was scarcely six months after Barbara's birth before they were expecting again. Nine months later, they had welcomed another girl, Eugenia, who had her mother's curly brown hair and her father's calm, green eyes. When Gabriel saw Gideon's perfect family and the ease in which he had attained that family, his chest filled with dread. Gideon and Sophie hadn't even tried and were blessed with two children of their own. Gabriel and Cecily were married two years and never once had to wonder if Cecily was pregnant. Month after month, she never was.

It had been Will, of all people, who calmed Gabriel during the times he worried that he and Cecily would never have a family of their own. Maybe it had been Will's selfish desire to not see his baby sister pregnant, but time and time again, Will said to Gabriel that a family would come, all in due time. There was no need to worry over what would happen. Nature would take the course it wanted to. Gabriel believed Will, he truly did, but there was also the gnawing self doubt he lived with, that Tatiana and Gideon both had children of their own, but he would be the one to fail.

Because of this, when Cecily told Gabriel she was pregnant, he had thrown Treasure Island aside, held her close, kissed her face, and cried with her in pure, unsurpassed joy.

That had been eight months ago. Since that day Gabriel had waited on Cecily hand and foot. He forbid her from training, and then, when she screamed and made a horrible scene, allowed her to train only under his watchful eye. When she snuck off in the night, unable to sleep, he followed her to the basement of their home, where she cleaned their supply of weapons and gear by the glow of a candle. Cecily was a Shadowhunter, through and through. She wore her Marks with pride, and even though the thought of her fighting demons still terrified Gabriel, she was his wife. He wanted her to be happy.

The long months of the pregnancy had worn on, with Cecily vacillating between training and staying in bed, ill with morning sickness. Gabriel spent the days she was sick at her side, braiding her hair and placing cool towels on her neck, until that difficult time passed. Her stomach doubled in size and then tripled, until Cecily began kicking Gabriel out of the small bed they shared. When that happened, Gabriel would spend the night on the bedroom floor covered up with only a sheet, just in case Cecily needed him. When Cecily was eight months pregnant, Gabriel showed up at her baby shower at the Institute with a bouquet of pink and blue roses. They could have found out if she was carrying a boy or a girl but they didn't, instead deciding to be surprised.

All of that had led up to this week, when Cecily was due to deliver their baby. Gabriel had taken the entire week off from Clave duties to be with her, to do whatever she needed to have done. They finished the baby's room. They folded clothing. They took long walks all over the house, only to rush back to their bedroom and summon the midwife when Cecily felt a pain in her stomach that caused her to squeeze Gabriel's hand and cry out. By the third time it happened, Will was the only one to show up at their home, his face pale and terrified, having ridden pell-mell across town on Bailos just to get to his sister's side. After that, it was decided that Cecily and Gabriel would relocate to the Institute, for the birth of their child, and for the sanity of all involved.

Still, the baby held on, stubborn like a Herondale, one day past Cecily's due date, then two, three, and four days past, until Gabriel decided that Cecily had gotten large for nothing, that the kicks he felt in her stomach were just a figment of his imagination, that all this time, she hadn't been pregnant. When he told Cecily this, she had slapped him across the face. That had been last night.

This morning, Gabriel sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was too early to get up but too late to go to back to sleep. He was thinking about going down to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast tray for them to enjoy when Cecily moaned softly and reached for him. Gabriel moved back against her, resting a hand on her stomach, curling his body around hers, leaning close to gently kiss her cheek.

"I'm right here," Gabriel murmured. "Is there anything you need?"

"Gabriel," Cecily mumbled, turning her face to his, her eyes still shut. He felt a tightening in her stomach beneath his hand. Her face twisted in pain and her next breath was a gasp. Gabriel just watched her, fear and shock and excitement filling his tired limbs with energy and life. "I think it's time."

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Twelve hours later, Gabriel and Will were in the training room, banished there by Tessa and Sophie after Tessa had come out of the bedroom to find them both pacing down opposites sides of the hallway. She had demanded that they find something to do, and told them that these things take time. Will was the one who drug Gabriel upstairs. Gideon had shown up at the Institute as well and was eating an apple, stretched out on a bench, lazily giving tips to Gabriel and trying to keep him and Will distracted from what was happening downstairs. Gabriel was mindlessly shooting arrows at targets, thinking of names- Benjamin and Abigail and Ambriel and Isaiah. He and Cecily hadn't settled on a name yet, as they were unable to agree on what to call the child that would be a mix of both of them.

"You have nothing to worry about," Gideon said. "Women have babies all the time. The midwife knows that she is doing, Tessa is there…" Gabriel took a breath, notching the arrow and studying the target across the room. Gideon had been repeating this mantra over and over, like it would make some difference. Tessa being at Cecily's side was a comfort to Will, Gabriel could tell. Tessa was a comfort to anyone. Even so… "You have nothing to worry about. Women have babies all the time." Gideon's voice was smug, self assured even. It was almost too much.

Gabriel released the arrow and it went horribly wide, crossing the room and burying itself in the wall a full seven feet from its intended target, causing Gideon to fall silent. Gabriel dropped the bow, an exasperated gasp coming from his mouth as he ran his hands through his hair, and pulled, hard. So this was how it felt to lose one's mind. He looked over at Will, who shared his wide eyed expression. Unspoken words passed between them.

"She is MY SISTER!" Will shouted, storming over to Gideon. "She is not just another woman who is having a baby. She is MY LITTLE SISTER and she is having a baby!" The scene might have been comical had Gabriel not stormed over to Gideon, pulling his fist back, certain he was about to knock his brother into the next week.

"And she is MY WIFE!" Gabriel exclaimed. "She is downstairs, she is probably scared to death… and so am I. My wife is having a baby!"

"And you have nothing to worry about," Gideon said calmly. Gabriel screamed something inhuman and might have caused bodily harm to his brother had Will not wrapped his arms around Gabriel and pulled him away.

They were still like that, Gabriel struggling in Will's arms, Gideon saying soft, soothing words to calm his brother's hysteria, when the training room door creaked open and Tessa walked in, taking in the scene, one hand covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Gabriel went slack in Will's arms, feeling all the energy leave him. Will held him up, supporting him as he had for the last three years.

"Gabriel, I am pleased to say you have a beautiful baby girl," Tessa said.

_Anna._

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Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Christopher

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading, and thank you for the reviews. Please enjoy this chapter! Also this chapter can get rough for some readers, so practice discretion.**

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**Chapter 2: Christopher**

The two years after Anna's birth were some of the most trying and blissful times of Gabriel's life. Anna was an absolute joy to her parents, from sun up to sun down, every day. She had her mother's eyes and her father's hair, and always had a smile on her face. Every day when Gabriel came home from work, he heard his daughter's excited chatter echoing through the house before she ran to him, her arms wide open, her hands reaching for him. Every day, Gabriel dropped everything in his hands, lifted her up, and spun her in a circle, making her shriek and scream and look at him as if he were the greatest man to ever walk the earth.

After greeting Anna, Gabriel would carry her to the kitchen, where Cecily would prepare tea before they would sit down to dinner. Gabriel would kiss Cecily on the cheek and only half the time would she turn her face to kiss his lips.

Their marriage never had been an easy one, and the courtship leading up to the marriage hadn't been smooth either. Gabriel had spent the first year that they courted keeping a tight lid on his lust for her. Cecily had been so young, not even 16, and he had felt obligated to not sway her opinion of him either way. Gabriel saw how men looked at her, how they were obviously fascinated by a female Herondale. Cecily could have any man she wanted. Much as she insisted that she loved Gabriel, he insisted she keep her options open.

As it was, when Will and Tessa were planning their wedding and kissing in the corridors of the Institute, Gabriel was taking very long rides into the country with Cecily and doing nothing but sharing picnics with her. They never needed a chaperone; Gabriel knew to keep his gloves on and his hands to himself. It was another three months before they kissed again, back in the stable where they had shared their first kiss. This time, Cecily had pressed him to a stall door, one hand on his waist, and kissed him until each were breathless. After that, they could barely keep their hands off one another.

Still Gabriel insisted that Cecily see other men, just in case she found someone she wanted to be with that wasn't him. Gabriel knew this was for the best. A relationship built out of lust or obligation would never last. If they were going to be together forever, they had to start off right.

Gideon's wedding was held that April, and at the ball afterwards, Gabriel had a full dance card, as did Cecily, with only a few dances for them to share with one another. They enjoyed these dances, but when they were apart, each dancing with a different partner, Gabriel was dismayed to find in himself the first ugly thoughts of jealousy. That was Cecily, the girl he wanted to love, twirling around the ballroom with a man who was not him.

"You should declare your intentions," Tessa said, one hand on Gabriel's shoulder, the other holding his hand. They were dancing together, and Tessa was watching Gabriel's eyes following Cecily around the ballroom.

Ordinarily, Gabriel could lose himself in a waltz with Tessa. They were close in height, she just a head shorter than him, and with no feelings to be found between them, they could each enjoy the dance. On this night, however, Gabriel just wanted the dancing over with. Gideon was head over heels with his blushing bride, Will was dancing with Tatiana and watching Gabriel like a hawk, Cecily was making eyes at one of the Penhallow boys, and Gabriel was waltzing with a girl he had not a snowball's chance in hell with.

"I have declared my intentions," Gabriel said tensely. He had made things clear with Cecily very early on. Gabriel and Cecily would court. They would get to know one another. That was the reason for the long rides into the country side, the walks all over town… the occasional kisses in forgotten corners of the Institute….

"Make it official," Tessa insisted. "She's in love with you, Gabriel, and if you let her go, you will never get her back."

"She should keep her options open. See other men," Gabriel said.

"She only wants to see you," Tessa said, a knowing smile on her face.

It had taken Will and Tessa's wedding a few months later for Gabriel to see the truth to Tessa's words. Gabriel had been Will's best man and Cecily had been one of three bridesmaids. They had spent the evening dancing with others as they had before, but this night was different. This night, Cecily wore a dark green ball gown that clung to her curves. Her hair was pulled up into a complicated up do, and her ruby pendent was bright against her pale skin. She had no eyes for Gabriel, but rather, eyes for every other man at the wedding. She was beautiful and on that night, she belonged to no one.

Gabriel scarcely made it through three dances before he was storming outside, his face hot with jealously. Tessa was right. He had lost Cecily. Even if she found someone she loved more, there would always be a part of him that wanted her for himself.

"Gabriel," A voice had said. Gabriel turned around to see Cecily framed in the light coming from the ballroom, "Is everything alright?"

"Nothing is alright," Gabriel replied. "We have been courting for nearly a year now, and I have enjoyed our time together very much. I also asked for you to see others, to see if there is someone you might want to be with… more than I…" He took a breath, knowing this would sound selfish, but it had to be said. "I have tried to do the same. I have tried to see if there is another girl in London who catches my eye… but there is no one else, Cecily. There is only you."

Cecily stared at him for a moment, her mouth falling open. "I feel the same," She said. She walked over to him, the raw silk of her gown slipping soundlessly over the cobblestones, and came to stand before him not as the girl he met nearly a year ago, but as a woman. When had she grown up? How long had she been standing beside him, wanting to be with him, and how long had he been looking the other way?

Far too long.

Gabriel was unsure who moved first, but then he was kissing her passionately, running his hands over the back of her gown, pulling her close, not wanting to ever let go.

"So we agree," Cecily said, her voice just above a whisper. Gabriel nodded and kissed her again.

Two months later, just as summer turned to fall, with Will's blessing, Gabriel got down on one knee in the middle of the training room and asked Cecily to be his wife. They married in an elegant spring time affair the year after. The wedding night was the first time for either of them. Gabriel recalled the fear and excitement coursing through his veins the first the first time he unlaced her corset and ran his lips over her collar bones, then down the smooth skin of her stomach, tasting all that had been forbidden before they became husband and wife.

Anna had been born more than two years into their marriage, and for as wonderful as she was, Gabriel could have been happy with only one child. Following her birth, Gabriel and Cecily embarked on two difficult and sometimes painful years together. For as much as they had in common, they also wanted different things. Gabriel had envisioned marriage as always having someone to come home to. If Cecily didn't fight demons, he wouldn't have to worry about her, but Cecily wanted to fight demons and be at Gabriel's side. Gabriel loved that about her, but sometimes, he still saw her as the willful fifteen year old that first caught his eye. She was so young still, three years younger than him. He didn't want to think of her that way. There were times when he couldn't help it.

Cecily knew this, that Gabriel still saw her as a young girl, as if their age difference was greater than three years. Gabriel was a Lightwood, who believed he was always right, who wouldn't always listen to a woman's opinion. Anna was six months old when Gabriel brought up moving to Idris for a job serving the Clave in Shadowhunter home country. It was an opportunity for them to make something of themselves, and perhaps have more than just a seat on the Council in London. Gabriel wanted a career within the Clave, not just weekly meetings and answering to Will, who by then was running the Institute. When Gabriel mentioned moving to Cecily, the resulting screaming match found him sleeping on the floor of Anna's room for a week afterward.

Their marriage continued like that, each having expectations that the other one refused to fulfill. It wasn't a difficult marriage, but it was a trying one. Gabriel thought about giving up a hundred times, but he never did, not once. He stayed, and they endured.

Needless to say, the topic of another child never came up. It would be too much to think about. Gabriel knew they were young. They had time.

On a hot summer night in 1886, Gabriel and Cecily returned from a visit to the Institute. It was not long after their fifth anniversary. Tessa had given birth to she and Will's first child, a baby with dark hair and light eyes who they named James. The last time Gabriel had seen Will, he had been sitting in bed with Tessa, holding a tiny blue bundle in his arms, looking more at peace than Gabriel had seen him in a while. Gabriel could recall the happiness that he had felt regarding Anna's birth. Like Gabriel, Will had been worried that he and Tessa would be unable to have children, and had been ecstatic when he found out that they were expecting.

"Would you like to have a son?" Cecily had asked. Gabriel replied that he hadn't given it much thought. Anna would have always been more than enough. Gideon had yearned for a son after two daughters, but that was Gideon, heir to the Lightwood estate, who needed a son to pass property onto. That wasn't the case with Gabriel and Cecily, who lived simply. Another child would come in time, Gabriel knew, but after actively trying to have their first born and being disappointed each month to find that they had failed to conceive, Gabriel wasn't interested in subjecting his marriage to more stress than necessary.

Cecily had looked over at Gabriel, giving him a smile. That night, she had been wearing a cornflower blue dress that made her eyes look bright. When she leaned close, her skin smelled of rosewater perfume. The last two years had been tiring and difficult, and Gabriel had almost forgotten that Cecily was more than just the mother of his daughter… she was his wife. That night, when Gabriel made love to his Cecily, it felt better than it ever had.

It happened that night, unexpectedly, without even trying. Just like that, Gabriel and Cecily were expecting their second child. When Cecily told Gabriel the news, a peace came over their marriage, and there was nothing left to fight about.

This pregnancy had been the exact opposite of the first one. Cecily had become sick almost immediately, and with not the easy morning sickness of before, but something much worse. She could barely eat or leave the bed. She lost weight and while she had always been pale, her skin took on an unearthly shade of white. Gabriel was worried terribly for Cecily, and he hated blaming the baby for his wife's condition, though Cecily had been fine before she got pregnant. Anna was the only bright spot in an otherwise dark time.

When Cecily was six months pregnant, she and Gabriel were at the Institute when she first doubled up in pain. She was taken to bed and the Silent Brothers were called. They were able to stop the labor, but Cecily had to go on bed rest. Gabriel moved back into the Institute with Anna and began the long, worried wait for the baby's birth. Cecily went into labor at seven months and again at eight months, and that time there was no stopping it.

It had been an otherwise unremarkable day. Gabriel and Will were in the drawing room, reviewing the Institute's yearly budget, when Cecily first screamed in agony. They were out of the room and down the hall in an instant. Will had gotten to the room first and stopped outside the door, unable to go further. Gabriel pushed him aside, knowing neither heaven nor hell would keep him from Cecily's side, but as he entered the room, he stopped short, recoiling in horror. There was Cecily, his beautiful wife, her eyes wild with pain as she clutched her stomach, the sheets around her soaked with red.

Gabriel had tried to be at Cecily's side, holding her hand, begging her to breathe, but as labor continued with the Silent Brothers unable to help, fear overtook his conviction. Cecily's temperature began to climb, until her hand was like fire in his. Her skin was as white and gray as the snow that still fell outside, and she screamed until she was hoarse, and then she no longer had the energy to scream.

The Silent Brothers reported that there was little they could do. The runes they applied could only help so much. The baby was coming, hard and fast, tearing Cecily apart from the inside. There were options, of course. The Silent Brothers could perform an operation to deliver the baby, but in doing so, Cecily could die. She could die regardless, along with the baby.

"Please, save my wife," Gabriel had begged, tears running down his face. "You have to save my wife." The baby was an afterthought.

After that, Gabriel had left the room and all of the blood behind. Will stayed behind with Cecily. Surely he could handle this better than Gabriel, who couldn't bear to say goodbye. Instead, Gabriel took Anna from Sophie and went to the sanctuary, wanting silence. He knew was a chance that he would have to raise Anna on his own. Gabriel held Anna close to his chest, letting the sweet baby girl play with the buttons on his shirt, and closed his eyes. He thought of the good times in their marriage, and held on tightly to those memories.

There had been the time they went to Idris, before Anna was even thought of. Cecily never rode a horse sidesaddle, but rather as a man would ride. They had raced to a small lake in the middle of nowhere, and there, they took off all their clothes and swam together in the crystal clear water before climbing out to lie together, completely naked, beneath the sun.

There had been the trip to Greece the summer after their wedding. Gabriel and Cecily had drunk wine and got tipsy watching the fishing boats bring in the day's catch. Afterwards, they had walked back to the Institute they were staying at, with Gabriel holding up the back of Cecily's dress as she carried her shoes. Cecily had been positively glowing.

There had been their honeymoon to Ireland, walking hand in hand along the edge of the cliffs, not even man and wife for a whole week. They could have any sort of life they wanted. The whole world was spread out before them, theirs for the taking.

There had been the time that they sat in bed together, hands on Cecily's stomach, giggling like fools whenever Anna kicked. There had been the look Cecily gave Gabriel the first time they met baby James. She had been so positively enchanted by the baby boy, Gabriel would have willingly given her anything she wanted, just to see her smile like that again.

And now, this. After almost six years of marriage, and one child between them, there was a chance that Gabriel could lose Cecily forever. How could he live without her? After the good times and bad, how could Gabriel face a future where Cecily was not at his side?

In his arms, Anna relaxed and fell asleep. Gabriel kept his eyes shut, willing the hot tears to not roll down his face, because he could cry no more. He listened to the splash of water coming from the fountain, and willed this nightmare to be over.

Hours later, Gabriel felt Anna being pulled from his arms. He turned his head, feeling stone beneath him, and found that he was stretched out on a bench. He must have fallen asleep there with Anna on his chest. Will was now holding Anna as he stood beside Gabriel. As Gabriel watched, Will smoothed the child's hair and kissed her cheek, mumbling to her in Welsh the same thing Gabriel often heard Cecily say. _Fy angel bach. _My little angel.

Gabriel sat up slowly, taking breathes. He looked up at Will, seeing is brother-in-law's bloodshot red eyes. Will shook like a leaf. If not for Anna, he might have fallen over.

"Cecily," Gabriel breathed, not wanting the answer.

"Exhausted but alive," Will said. He closed his eyes as Anna tugged on his hair. There would be time for explanations, later.

"And the baby?" Gabriel asked. He averted his eyes, not wanting to face Will's grief head on.

"A baby boy," Will said softly, his voice catching, "healthy as can be."

_Christopher._

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**Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3: Alexander

**Author's Note: Welcome to the last chapter on Great Expectations! Thank you very much for reading this far! I deeply appreciate all of the reviews and views. If you enjoyed this, I will (hopefully) have a surprise that I will reveal at the end of this chapter. Please enjoy this chapter, and leave feedback as you so desire!**

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**Chapter 3: Alexander**

After Christopher's birth, it took time for Cecily to recover from the delivery. During this time, the task of taking care of the children fell to Gabriel, who was fully prepared to dislike the child that nearly took Cecily from him. However, after a few nights of tending to Christopher, Gabriel was surprised to see a light dusting of freckles across the backs of the baby's hands when Christopher reached up and wrapped his hand around Gabriel's right index finger. Gabriel had stared at the tiny hand for a long while.

The first time Anna had been placed in his arms, she had been so little, her red face scrunched up into a pout, the hat Sophie had knit her almost too big for her. Gideon had insisted that he had felt something at the birth of his two daughters and that he had known beyond a doubt that they belonged to him. Gabriel thought that sounded crazy. Of course they were Gideon's daughters. Then Gabriel had met Anna for the first time and suddenly understood. Anna was a baby that he and Cecily had made together, their one contribution to the world that no one could ever take away.

It was the same with Christopher. After Christopher had released Gabriel's finger and started to cry from hunger, Gabriel had picked up his newborn son, held him to his chest, and felt the baby's tiny heart pound. Here was a child who had come into the world with nothing. It was Gabriel's responsibility to raise this boy, and give him everything, and so he would.

Perhaps it had been caused by Cecily nearly dying, but something changed in Gabriel and Cecily's marriage. They became less stubborn with one another and more willing to compromise. Gabriel allowed Cecily to come along on less dangerous missions, and Cecily allowed Gabriel to go on various interviews and short term assignments. The year Christopher turned three, Gabriel served six weeks at the Institute in Quebec and another three weeks at the Institute in Paris. The invention and refinement of the Portal by Henry Branwell enabled Shadowhunters from all over the world to travel as they had been unable to before. This way, Gabriel was able to feel like he was still doing something for the world, but he was able to come home to London any time.

By 1899, Gabriel had taken a more permanent position in Idris working with a group of people who drafted and enforced laws for the Shadowhunters, while Cecily had taken a job teaching at the Academy where Gabriel once attended, and where his own children were now students. Anna was now nearly fifteen years old, and looking more like her mother every day, while Christopher was twelve and took after Gabriel. Every week, Gabriel and Cecily stayed in town at a small apartment while the children lived at the Academy, and every weekend, they either traveled back to London, where they visited often, or made the hour long ride by horseback to their manor house in the country side.

The manor wasn't Lightwood House- Gabriel would never want his children to grow up in a place filled with dark rooms and secret passageways. Lightwood Manor was full of windows and open spaces, surrounded by small trees that would eventually grow large. It was the perfect place to retire (or retire as much as a Shadowhunter could.) Will had plans to relocate to Idris with Tessa, just as soon as James became old enough to take over the Institute, which would be in the next fifteen years. Will had purchased property close to Lightwood Manor the year before. Whenever Gabriel and Christopher heeled their horses into a gallop to race across the last stretch of flat earth before they climbed the gradual hill to Lightwood Manor, they would pass by Herondale Manor, which was slowly being built.

Sometimes, Gabriel would watch the construction and shake his head. Will planned for his manor house to have three floors (Lightwood manor had two) as well as a great wraparound porch (Lightwood manor had no porch.) Gabriel would insist time and time again that he had won the age old attempt at one- upping one another when he married Cecily, but that didn't matter. Some things would never change.

Yes, life was wonderful for Gabriel and Cecily. It had been going wonderful for so long, when it took a sudden turn, Gabriel thought nothing of it.

That turn had started on a Friday afternoon at the beginning of May. The family was in between Alicante and the manor house. Up ahead, Christopher and Anna were squabbling as they trotted along on their horses. Cecily and Gabriel rode side by side behind them, enjoying the warm weather. Gabriel looked over at his lovely wife. Time had been kind to her, and she had hardly aged at bit since he met her. She was 37 now, and still her blue eyes were clear and her skin remained as milky and flawless as it always had been. Her hair was thinner now, and she often wore it back in a braid that went all the way to her waist.

Time had not been so kind to Gabriel. The years of hunting demons and serving the Clave had taken their toll on his body. He could no longer climb out of bed without various joints throbbing. His eyes stayed green as ever, but one morning at the Manor house he had been washing up in the bathroom when a beam of light caught his hair and revealed to him several silver colored strands. More would follow.

"You're quiet today," Cecily had remarked, looking over from her horse. Gabriel looked at her, smiling.

"Just thinking, is all," Gabriel said. Cecily smiled back, and then placed a hand on her stomach. "Are you alright, my love?"

"I'm not feeling well," Cecily said with a scowl. "It's been a week now. Something feels… off. Maybe it's the weather. I'm sure it's nothing." She had shaken her head, dismissing it.

Gabriel might have questioned her further, but Christopher yelled then, his voice eager, before he loosened the reins, giving his horse her head and allowing her to take off at a gallop. Gabriel could have held back, he could have continued the conversation, but then Cecily gave Gabriel an impish smile and a nod and he took off pursuit of Christopher, catching up very quickly. It was times like this, when Gabriel looked over to see Christopher nearly flat on his horse's back, his fingers tangled in the horse's mane as they thundered across an open field, determined to win at any cost, that Gabriel again saw so much of himself in his only son.

By that Monday, Cecily wasn't feeling any better, so Gabriel dropped Anna and Christopher off at school with Cecily, then went down to the Silent City. He hated it down there. The silence and darkness reminded him of drowning and death. When Cecily was directed to a large room with a black basalt table and torches on the wall, Gabriel went with her, tugging on his shirtsleeves, unnerved by this place. He had been there numerous times before for business and injuries alike, but it never got any easier. Now, Cecily was there, sitting on the table, humming softly, filling the silence with music.

"I doubt it is anything at all," Cecily said as a Silent Brother slipped into the room. He drew back his hood, and Gabriel was relieved to see, only somewhat, that the brother was Zachariah.

"You've come to seek treatment?" Zachariah asked. He looked over at Gabriel, causing Gabriel to look away. Zachariah had treated him before, and Gabriel saw him at the London Institute as well, paying a visit, but this was different.

"I'm not feeling well," Cecily said. "Something feels off. I'm not being foolish. I just know, something is not right." Gabriel looked over at her, worried. He crossed the room and was by her side as she lay down on the table, closing her eyes as Zachariah instructed. Then Zachariah placed his hands on her temples.

"Have you been exposed to any demons lately?" Zachariah asked.

"None," Cecily replied. Zachariah's face changed quickly, a light smile slipping across his lips. Gabriel knew that Zachariah was reading Cecily's thoughts now, and seeing all of the things she kept secret. He felt his face get warm. Angel only knew what Cecily had on her mind at any given time.

"When is the last time you went to London?" Zachariah asked.

"Two weeks ago," Cecily said. "Before that, it was a while. The children have been busy with school. We didn't want to take them…"

"It's been two months since you bled. Am I correct, Mrs. Lightwood?" Zachariah asked. Gabriel took a sudden breath that shattered any silence left in the room. Cecily's eyes flew open and she looked at Gabriel as Zachariah pulled his hands away. "You didn't need to come all the way to the Silent City. You can confirm it yourself. You're pregnant."

Gabriel could hear the laughter in Zachariah's voice as the Silent Brother stepped away, giving Gabriel a chance to run his hands through his hair, then reach down to help Cecily sit up.

"You're certain?" Cecily asked.

"Without a doubt," Zachariah replied. "You're about two months along, due just after the first of the year, with a-" Gabriel shook his head quickly. He didn't want to know. It was better that way, to not form an attachment to this… this…

"This cannot be," Gabriel said. "I'm going to be 39 next month. We have a fourteen year old. We were told that this couldn't happen…" He looked at Cecily, who had already placed her hands on her stomach, just over the place where their baby was growing. Oh, Will was going to have a field day with this, once he stopped laughing.

"Do you need my help explaining that as well?" Zachariah asked. With one final, triumphant smile, he left the room as quietly as he arrived.

"It was that time in London," Cecily said, as Gabriel buried his face in his hands and resigned himself to a full head of gray hair.

Gabriel remembered that time very well. At the end of February and Gabriel, Cecily, and the children had come to London so that Christopher could receive his first runes at the London Institute. It had been the day before the ceremony and the Christopher and Anna had gone up to the training room after breakfast with their cousins, James and Lucie. Lucie was Will's daughter, born in 1891. She took after her mother and was very quiet, usually only making noise if James provoked her. James was all fire and white hot rage, like Will had been at thirteen. He got along well with Christopher, who was more reserved. There had been talk over breakfast that either James move to Idris to train with Christopher, or Christopher move back to London to train with James.

The future had been on Gabriel's mind as he crawled back into bed after breakfast. Everything was taken care of for Christopher's party that would be held after the rune ceremony the following day. Today was a day for relaxing, which Gabriel had wanted to do. Against Cecily and Tessa's wishes, Gabriel and Will had gone out hunting the night before, and as Gabriel was well aware, he was not nineteen any longer. He couldn't stay up all night and then be wide awake the next morning, no matter what rune he applied to his scarred skin.

"What do you think about Christopher moving back to London?" Cecily had asked. She had locked the door to the bedroom and came over to the bed as Gabriel unbuttoned his shirt and cast it aside. The night before, he had been struck by an obnoxious little demon and now had a still healing wound across his collar bone. An iratze helped, but also raised his temperature, making him feel jittery and feverish.

"I think Christopher should do whatever he wants," Gabriel said. When he was twelve, Benedict had never given him a choice of what he wanted to do. Christopher had a good head on his shoulders, and he was capable of making a decision on how he wanted to spend his formal schooling. Besides, it was a matter of Christopher living in London at the Institute, or Gabriel and Cecily hosting James, who had already proven to be a most difficult child. The last thing Gabriel wanted to be responsible for was Will's wayward son.

"But what do you think?" Cecily asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Gabriel reached up and unbuttoned the buttons down the back of her dress, until Cecily was able to stand up and remove the dress before crawling into bed in just her chemise and petticoats. She reached over to the bedside table and picked up a small jar of sweet scented ointment that would promote healing.

"I think Christopher would be happy anywhere, but I doubt James would be happy in Idris," Gabriel remarked. He flinched as Cecily massaged the ointment into the scar, then reached over and rested a hand on her back. Cecily smiled and leaned over to kiss his lips.

Gabriel closed his eyes and kissed back, tangling one hand into Cecily's hair that hung loose down her back. He tugged on it gently, causing Cecily to lean her head back, exposing her throat and allowing Gabriel to place a kiss at the base of her throat. He followed this kiss with a light nip, grazing his teeth over the pale, soft rose scented skin of her neck. Cecily shivered against him, unable to speak, and so Gabriel wrapped his arms around her, pulling her over to him, so that she straddled him. The silken fabric of her petticoats slipped against his lower stomach, feeling cool against his burning skin.

He traced his index finger down the side of her neck, brushing his cheek against hers before he kissed the place just beneath her ear, gasping warm air against that very spot. Cecily placed her hands against his chest, gripping lightly, moving her hips against his ever so slowly, stoking within him an unexpected fire. Gabriel reached up and tugged the straps over her chemise down, exposing her breasts. Cecily shook her head and pulled away, slipping the chemise over her head and tossing it aside along with her petticoat. Then she was naked before him, and she reached down, deftly tugging open the buttons on his pants. Cecily pulled them down and climbed on top of him, pulling him close, pressing her lips back to his.

There was no time for thought, there was only here and now, need and desire and want all wrapped up with heat and coolness. Gabriel pressed himself into Cecily, causing her to moan loudly before smiling quickly. He put his arms around her, running his hands down her back, kissing her collarbones and lower, until each were satisfied by the other.

Afterwards, they didn't speak of it. Gabriel pulled the covers up and lay close to Cecily, tracing his fingers over the runes that dotted her arms and back. She lay against him, her body soft and cooling against his still feverish skin. Gabriel could have slept for hours like that with his wife in his arms, only, there was a knock at the door, followed by a distraught sounding "Father?" Moments like this with Cecily were hard to come by anymore. The children always needed something.

"I have it," Cecily said. She climbed out of bed and put on a dressing gown, then went to the door, pulling it open slightly.

"I need Father," Christopher said. "He can help." Cecily sighed, then closed the door and returned to the bed side. Gabriel was already reaching over for his shirt as Cecily handed him his pants.

"There's blood," Cecily reported, "probably Christopher's. Clearly because this wound isn't a scraped knee, I am unqualified to take care of it."

"It's not that at all," Gabriel said. Christopher was at the age when he needed his mother for less and his father for more. Sometimes Gabriel looked at Christopher and saw the little boy with the big blue eyes who followed his big sister everywhere. Then Christopher asked him about a girl who liked him, and Gabriel found himself at a loss for words. Where had time gone?

Cecily sat on the bed, giving Gabriel a look that told him not to fight with her. She was resigned that her youngest son was growing up faster than they had ever expected. Gabriel buttoned his shirt, then went to the door and opened it to find Christopher and James standing together in the hallway. A bloody rag was held in Christopher's fist, while James scowled at the blood.

"I cut my finger," Christopher said.

"I told him to be careful with the throwing stars!" James snapped, all self righteous. Of course. Will Herondale's boy would never admit to wounding himself on a piece of metal with five very sharp blades attached. "He should have known better."

"And if I recall right, didn't your father and I agree that no one was to be playing with blades without adult supervision?" Gabriel asked. "Last I checked, you are still only thirteen. I don't care how many runes you have. In my eyes, and in the eyes of a Clave, you are still a child." James glared, his face twisting into a look of barely contained anger. This was James, who liked to challenge anyone and battle those who dared to disagree with him. He was quite at home in the Institute, and quite used to his father running the place. "Go find your father and meet me upstairs. If you want to train, you can train with your father and I assisting." James clenched his jaw and stomped away. Gabriel examined the wound on Christopher's finger, then pulled him into the room to bandage the wound, promising to give Christopher his very first iratze the next day.

It was then, though, they didn't know it and never even considered it. The next afternoon, Cecily and Gabriel stood by as Christopher gritted his teeth and Zachariah drew a Voyance rune on the back of Christopher's right hand. When it was finished everyone cheered and Gabriel pulled Christopher close, prouder than ever of his son. After that, there was a luncheon and presents, and at some point, Gabriel gave Christopher and iratze which didn't slow the boy down in the slightest. At the ball that evening, Gabriel and Cecily drank and danced until the wee hours of the night, until Cecily was giggling as she carried her shoes upstairs, her cheeks flushed bright.

Two days later they returned to Idris, back to their daily lives. They returned to school during the week and Gabriel and Christopher racing their horses the last mile before they got to the manor almost every weekend. Life was wonderful, yet, life was about to change.

"What are you thinking?" Cecily asked, her voice loud above the silence. She remained on the basalt table, one hand covering her mouth. Her eyes were dark in the witch light. Gabriel swallowed nervously and said the only thing that could come to mind.

"But we gave the crib away!"

* * *

The pregnancy, by comparison to Christopher's, was a dream. Two weeks after finding out they were excepting, Gabriel, Cecily, Anna and Christopher traveled to London, where Gabriel met Will in the drawing room, poured him a very tall glass of brandy, and told him the news. Will laughed so hard he put himself into a coughing fit. Once that was done, he smacked Gabriel on the back and said, over and over again, "I always knew you had it in you!"

The pregnancy flew by quickly and blissfully simple. Tessa visited often and helped Cecily knit things for the baby while Will helped Gabriel and Christopher put a nursery together. Then Gabriel helped Christopher pack his things and stood by with Cecily, holding her close, as Christopher stepped into the Portal with Will, bound for formal schooling at the London Institute. Summer became autumn and November turned into December. That year, Gabriel hosted Christmas for the family in Idris and spent the entire time watching Cecily carefully.

It was just a few days into 1900 with the snow still blowing outside when Gabriel sat with Christopher and Anna in the kitchen of Lightwood Manor. Will and Gideon had arrived earlier and were talking softly at the other end of the table as Gabriel rolled a dice and moved a marble across the Chinese checker board. Tessa and Sophie were upstairs with Cecily and had been for much of the afternoon.

"Not long now," Tessa said, walking into the kitchen. She placed a hand on Will's shoulder and he turned to kiss the back of her hand, smiling up at his beautiful wife.

Almost on cue, a baby's wail broke the quiet. Gabriel looked over at Christopher, then at Anna, then further down the table at Will and Tessa and Gideon. His family, all gathered together, prepared to welcome one more.

_Alexander._

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please review? Am I forgetting something? Oh yes. If you enjoyed this story and would be interested in reading more like it, please sign up for an author alert, because I have ideas for more fics that you will hopefully enjoy as well, and there is a very, very good chance that one might be posted as early as a week from now. And once again, because I cannot say it enough, thank you so much for taking the time to read the things I write! ~Melissa**


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